Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

CVN-78, CVN-79, and CVN-80 are the first three ships in the Navy's new Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). CVN-78 was procured in FY2008 and is being funded with congressionally authorized 4-year incremental funding in FY2008-FY2011. The Navy's proposed FY2011 budget estimates the ship's procurement cost at $11,531.0 million (i.e., about $11.5 billion) in then-year dollars, and requests $1,731.3 million in procurement funding as the final increment to complete this estimated procurement cost. CVN-79 is scheduled for procurement in FY2013, and has received advance procurement funding since FY2007. The Navy's proposed FY2011 budget estimates the ship's procurement cost at $10,413.1 million (i.e., about $10.4 billion) in then-year dollars and requests $908.3 million in advance procurement funding for the ship. CVN-80 is scheduled for procurement in FY2018, with advance procurement funding scheduled to begin in FY2014. The Navy's proposed FY2011 budget estimates the ship's procurement cost at $13,577.0 million (i.e., about $13.6 billion) in then-year dollars. On April 6, 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a number of recommendations he was making for the FY2010 defense budget. One of these was to shift procurement of carriers to 5-year intervals. This recommendation effectively deferred the scheduled procurement of CVN-79 from FY2012 to FY2013, and the scheduled procurement of CVN-80 from FY2016 to FY2018. Potential oversight issues for Congress include the following: Did shifting carrier procurement to 5-year intervals put carrier procurement on a more fiscally sustainable path?; and What is the likelihood that the estimated procurement costs of CVNs 78, 79, and 80 will increase from the estimates shown in the FY2011 budget? Appendixes include the text of a Navy Report on the Effects of Shifting to Five-Year Intervals and materials from a July 16, 2009, Hearing on EMALS.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 13, 2010
Accession Number
ADA518919

Entities

People

  • Ronald O'Rourke

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircraft Carriers
  • Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion
  • Boats
  • Catapult-Assisted Takeoff Systems
  • Contracts
  • Cvn-79 Uss John F. Kennedy
  • Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems
  • Ford-Class
  • Governments
  • Naval Vessels
  • Navy
  • Nimitz-Class
  • Radar
  • Ships
  • Uss George H.W. Bush
  • Uss Gerald R. Ford
  • Virginia Class

Readers

  • Military Logistics and Supply Chain Management
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting